Aftermath
Chapter Seven
"Dad, I lost my powers" Virgil said softly before pulling out the mask looking at it as it stood out in his black gloves.
Robert inwardly sighed and crossed over to Virgil and pulled him into a hug, through his thin jacket he could feel that his son was shivering in his arms.
Pulling him back, Robert made Virgil look up, "Virgil, I need you to change out of your clothes as they're wet from where you fell into the docks" He said softly with the stern tone in his voice.
"I-I can't Pops, I'm needed here" Virgil muttered fighting free of his father's hands and backed away from him.
"Virgil, Richie will understand if I take you to your headquarters to get you into some clean clothes" Robert said softly and looked at the city lights before sighing softly.
Virgil remained silent before another loud ruckus started down below; he crossed over and peered over the edge seeing flashes of cameras and distant yells of gangs of news reporters. "They're here, there's no way out…" Virgil muttered backing away from the edge of the roof and leaned against the open doorway that led down into the hospital.
Robert groaned and rubbed his temples to help with the building headache, "No, there is a way out… I know there is" He said with a tired sigh.
Crossing over to Virgil, he took the mask freeing the dark shades from it and offered them to Virgil. "Put these on and pull your hood up, we'll go out through one of the side exits" Robert said as he put the mask into his own pocket.
Virgil sighed softly, "Fine… but I still feel different… wrong" He muttered as he pulled the hood of his jacket up, hiding his eyes with the dark blue shades.
"You're just tired Virgil, I'm sure that once you have got changed, some rest and something to eat things will look better" Robert replied and led the way back to the stairs inwardly hoping he was right as they climbed down the stairs.
"Was it really that bad out there Adam?" Sharon asked softly sitting by Richie's bed as the metahuman genius continued to sleep.
"It was but it must have been worse for Gear, I'm just glad that Static… Virgil arrived when he did but he seemed cold" Adam replied resting his hands on Sharon's shoulders.
They had sent Shebang to rest back at her own place; everyone needed a shower, change of clothes and some rest. Their minds however were occupied with the odd behaviour of Virgil when he was in his Static costume.
"I don't understand this Adam, I thought that he loved being the hero but now…" Sharon broke away hearing soft moans coming from the bed.
"Rich? You awake?" Adam asked softly while Sharon dug in her pocket for Richie's glasses.
"A- Adam? W-what happened?" Richie asked quietly, his voice a little croaky while there were signs of sleep written all across his face and voice.
"Well the fire is almost out, here we picked these up for you" Sharon said handing Richie's glasses making sure that Richie could find them.
"We, I-is Virgil here?" Richie asked and groaned as he tried to sit up before sinking back into the pillows taking shallow breaths.
"Easy Rich, no he isn't… Robert is with him, Static save you from the monster" Adam explained as Richie put his glasses on, letting the room become clearer.
"S-static… but that's not possible, Virgil is terrified of his powers" Richie said with a soft sigh and looked up at the bare white ceiling. He could feel that there were bandages around his arms and chest, "What are they for?" He asked looking at the bandages.
"They're for the burns you got during that battle, do you remember?" Adam asked glancing back at Sharon slightly with a small frown.
Richie closed his eyes and tried to remember the battle, he could remember the appearance of the monster that use to be the metahuman villains Hotstreak and Ebon before a bright light and stabbing pain filled his mind.
Sharon sat back down on the chair and waited for Richie to reply to Adam's question, she sighed softly and wondered how long Robert was coping with Virgil.
Robert followed Virgil into the Abandoned Gas Station of Solitude, he had been there a few times in the past but this time it seemed different.
"Guess you boys cleared up since I last been here, go and get changed while I fix you a coffee" Richie said making another attempt to make a conversation with his son.
"Just had to after the mucked up experiment" Virgil muttered stripped off his gloves and jacket before disappearing off to the back of the gas station for a shower and a fresh set of clothes.
Robert sighed before looking around seeing that Virgil and Richie had modified their headquarters to a second home, including a kitchen and by sounds of things a small bathroom including showers.
Looking at the kitchen area Robert smiled seeing the coffee maker with fresh filters and clean mugs stored close by, he also found a cupboard full of energy bars in a variety of different flavours.
Robert was impressed and scared in how well his son and Richie had set up their headquarters, he looked around the gas station from where he stood as he waited for Virgil to come back into the main room. He could see where Richie would work on new inventions or new ideas, which were diagrams covering the walls near the computer. Robert could imagine Virgil lounging on the old couch reading comic books or just watching Richie work at the workbench.
"I-it's not much but its somewhere where we can go for our superhero things, or just to hang out" Virgil spoke quietly leaning against the doorway holding his jacket in his arm, his hair looked damp from the quick shower had a few minutes ago.
The coffee maker started to hiss as it warmed up, producing steam before producing the hot drink for the father and son, Robert dug out a few energy bars before nodding towards the couch.
"Take a seat Virgil and eat a couple of these, I'm sure that is why they're here" Robert said pressing the energy bars into Virgil's hands as his son crossed over to sit on the couch.
Virgil sat down with a soft sigh and played with the energy bars in his hands, it was Richie who discovered them and realized that the energy bars perked Virgil up without using the zap caps. "They are Rich discovered them" He said softly, going over the thoughts that were on his mind since waking up after the living nightmare of transforming into the energy monster.
Robert made two coffees quietly caught up in his own thoughts and memories before taking the hot drinks over to his son, "Here, want to talk?" He asked offering one of the mugs.
Virgil accepted the mug after putting the energy bar down and nodded.
Richie sighed softly as he opened his eyes thinking about Virgil and why he acted like he did when dressed like Static, Richie could remember telling Virgil about being the same person with or without the mask.
A knock on the door brought Richie out of his thoughts knocking him out of the memories of the past, "Hello Gear, sorry to disturb you but I'm Dr Barnes from the burns unit" A doctor introduced himself, coming into the private room closing the door behind him.
"Nice to meet you Dr Barnes, I'm ok just tired… it has been a little hectic in the city lately" Richie said forgetting that he was wearing the spare mask Virgil took to carrying around with him.
"So I have gathered from the news reporters, must have been difficult out there without Static" Dr Barnes replied as he took a look at the chart at the bottom of the bed.
"Have had it harder, got to thank Rubberband Man and Shebang too as they did a lot of work and saved many lives at the docks" Richie said with a small shrug.
"Still glad Static appeared when he did, the city still thinks he's the greatest" Dr Barnes muttered as he read over the chart. "Well I see nothing wrong so you can be discharged as soon as a nurse has taught you how to change your bandages" The doctor added out loud.
No wonder V's messed up Richie thought to himself with an inward sigh.
When the mask is on everyone sees Static Virgil's voice echoed in Richie's mind.
"Ok Doc thanks! Have you seen Rubberband Man?" Richie asked with a small wince as he tried to sit up.
"No but I will find him for you after I find a nurse to change your bandages, are you sure you're ok?" Dr Barnes asked frowning at seeing etches of pain written on the hero's face.
"I-It's nothing just a bruised rib from earlier" Richie said stifling his breath slowly to get his ribs to calm down.
Dr Barnes frowned. "Well I'll have the nurse take a look for you" He said as he wrote on the notepad then left the room.
Richie sighed and leaned back against the pillows hoping that the burns weren't as bad as they could have been, At least the new design worked He thought with a soft sigh.
Robert looked down into the empty cup, "Are you sure Virgil, Do you think you need more time to think this over?" He asked looking up at his son, who was pacing slightly along the length of the couch.
"I am Pops; I'm sure about that but as for being Static…" Virgil answered stopping his pacing and looked down at his costume, tracing the symbol on his chest.
"You're just tired Virgil, it was your first day out there, out in the city for nearly a week" Robert replied getting up off the couch and crossed over to his son.
"Y-you're right Dad, let's get back to the hospital… I need to talk to Richie and tell him what I told you" Virgil said with a soft smile.
"Pops thanks for accepting me" He added shortly afterwards with a true smile, which brought a smile to Robert's face.
"It's ok Virgil, as long as you're happy then I'm happy for you" Robert said and hugged his son back who had thrown himself into his father's arms. "Come on let's get to the hospital" He said holding his son with a smile.
To be continued!